It's not about sowing the seeds though. It about the relative capability to produce the most powerful platform.
Reading this thread you'd think Sony isn't interested in producing the most capable platform for developers and gamers. This mindset seems to hinge on two factors - Sony will be first to market or Microsoft will have multiple SKU's with a 'world's most powerful' unit. It just seems a little absurd that people have no faith in Sony being able to compete because, apparently, they are dead-set on the middle ground.
I mean it could happen but to comparatively predict and define Sony's next PlayStation platform as under-performing, based on those metrics, is a little dangerous right now.
Um ... it's not so much that people think that Sony is stuck in the middle-ground
Ok I will say something that here will not be so successful but that in my opinion is what it is
For many years Microsoft has been trying in various ways to become a "leader" in the videogame market and we know well that initially the "videogame" was simply an excuse in its race towards the control of the living room.
Tried (and trying)... with different results..from the OG xbox or GFWL to the x360 until the OG xbox one ( i think their most poor attempt)...
People should start to understand that for them (seen the different results of their effort..and since some have completely failed)....it is not so much a problem of money .. not for such large companies (we saw Apple lose 190 billions of market cap in just 5 weeks without batting an eyelid) but it becomes (a problem) when you fail to instill in the shareholders the necessary confidence to invest in that market instead of others....that trust that at the moment Nadella has conquered... and that now he pours in Spencer and in the gaming division. This does not want to be the usual post that talks about the "myth" of their money war-chest..but the simple rationalization that companies that differ in size ....can have at their "maximum" huge budget differences...
The acquisitions made by Ms and the release of a console like the X .. the investment in services such as xcloud and gamepass all in such short times.... make it clear how much Ms is ready at the moment to invest in the gaming division ... despite .... let's say clearly that this was not one of their best GEN...so much so that many thought (clearly say stupidly) that Ms was ready to "close" the division.
I do not think any other of the big 3 could have invested (money wise) what Microsoft is doing in such a short time now, especially during a generation that absolutely does not see it as a leader. (without even questioning the 2.5 billion dollars spent on minecraft in this gen)
We know that for Sony the gaming division in the last 10 years has become one of the most important ... this is due to the fact that they lost a lot of ground in other markets such as mobile phones or TV. In the same way we know that the billions lost during the PS3 era brought the sony really to its lowest level. And I do not think investors ever want to see Sony take so much risk in a console like they did with the PS3.Unfortunately at this moment I do not think that Sony could allow another generation like PS3 one without undergoing major changes in the division itself.
This is why I think that even if they will release an excellent console (as was, and is the PS4) I do not see them wanting to fight against MS a war of power ... especially considering 3 thing the balanced design that Cerny has accustomed us to (especially with the PRO )...the price point to which Sony seems to be aiming...and even more so when the CEO of the Microsoft division in front of everyone (betting his face at E3) has made it clear that they want to have the most powerful console again.
Of course anything can happen but I personally expect microsoft (as many others have said before me) will have the most powerful console the next gen
ps. and let me add this. the strength of the brand playstation can easily, on the contrary of the xbox, win a gen even without being the most powerful console